Ni bird life

My favourite examples of bird life in Northern Ireland

The Magpie

As a member of the crow family Magpies grow to a length of 44-48 cm with a wingspan of 56 cm weighing 200-240 g with an average lifespan of 5 years. They are long tailed birds commonly black with a white belly and white patches on the shoulders and wings. They are widespread and omnivorous feeding on carrion, insects, chicks of other birds and eggs, they considered social birds and are often seen in groups, during the spring the males will help the females out by collecting twigs, leaves, beaches or anything really that can be used for the nest. They normally inhabit grassland, Heath and moorland, farmland, the coast, woodland, towns and gardens. They are protected by: Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981. And are classed as green in the Birds of Conservation Concern 4: the Red List for Birds 2015. They are a favourite of mine due to the interesting colours they display and the strange social yet aggressive behavior they often show.

The barn owl

 Considered a bird of prey the barn owl can grow to a length from 33-39 cm and have a wingspan of 89 cm weighing 300 g with an average lifespan of 4 years. With a heart shaped face and white feathers they are easy to identify, they are normally nocturnal hunters “quartering” over farmland looking for its prey of small mammals such as field mice they can however also be seen during the day. They are known for being nearly completely silent flyers and can direct high frequency sounds to help search for their prey with the help of their brilliant hearing.
They are classed as green under the Birds of conservation concern 4: the red list of birds (2015) and they are protected in the UK under the wildlife and countryside act 1981 however they under serious threat in Northern Ireland with a total breeding pair count of below 50 with only a few remaining nest site their numbers have declined by 60% since the 1930’s and listed as red in the Irish birds of conservation concern and protected under the wildlife order 1985 in NI and nest sites are protected all year round regardless if they are in use. I consider them as one of my all time favourite birds partially due to early exposure as they are Northern Irelands resident bird of prey along with them being very, very pretty in my eyes.